I'm working on my first big revision to the sequel to The War That Saved My Life. It's a hot mess right now, but getting better. A lot of people think revision is essentially line-editing just, like where you change
"Ada" Maggie yelled,running flying into the room with her arms flung wide.
And there is some of that on my end, because I'll alwaysmake the sentence better improve the sentence where I can. But there's none of that on my editor's end - it's far too early for her to be worrying about the small stuff. We're all big stuff just now. My last two books, which have been my best two books, have gone through six full drafts before they hit your hands. (If They have not hit your hands yet, please go take care of that immediately.) So this first revision, this second draft, is all about big stuff.
The opening sentence, for example, went from
I woke up from the surgery sobbing.
to
The horse had its back legs blown off.
That's a pretty big change. (And relax! It's a toy horse!)
Yesterday I came across this thrilling scene, in its entirety:
I was reunited with Fred and Butter.
Oh, the action ! The pathos . Yet I decided to work on it just a bit. What we have now:
First thing the next morning, I Followed the path through the woods to the stables. I walked there. No crutches. "Fred" I yelled as I got close, and then I even ran. I had not practiced running very much so I lurched and felt out of breath, but it was running, real running , and it was so much fun I laughed aloud. When I saw Fred I ran faster. He held his arms out, and it was a good thing, because I couldn't get my legs to stop. I smashed right into him . He laughed and swung me up in the air, up in a circle, and when he set me down firm on both feet he kissed my cheek, which he'd never done before. "Ah, lass!" he said, taking his handkerchief and wiping his eyes. "I never thought to see you so spry. I didn't think they could. "
I've now managed to bollux up Blogger. It keeps trying to translate my English into other English.
"Ada" Maggie yelled,
And there is some of that on my end, because I'll always
The opening sentence, for example, went from
I woke up from the surgery sobbing.
to
The horse had its back legs blown off.
That's a pretty big change. (And relax! It's a toy horse!)
Yesterday I came across this thrilling scene, in its entirety:
I was reunited with Fred and Butter.
Oh, the action ! The pathos . Yet I decided to work on it just a bit. What we have now:
First thing the next morning, I Followed the path through the woods to the stables. I walked there. No crutches. "Fred" I yelled as I got close, and then I even ran. I had not practiced running very much so I lurched and felt out of breath, but it was running, real running , and it was so much fun I laughed aloud. When I saw Fred I ran faster. He held his arms out, and it was a good thing, because I couldn't get my legs to stop. I smashed right into him . He laughed and swung me up in the air, up in a circle, and when he set me down firm on both feet he kissed my cheek, which he'd never done before. "Ah, lass!" he said, taking his handkerchief and wiping his eyes. "I never thought to see you so spry. I didn't think they could. "
I've now managed to bollux up Blogger. It keeps trying to translate my English into other English.
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